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Mighty Hoopla, Cross The Tracks, Wide Awake & City Splash festivals, Brockwell Park - discussion

Also thought it was interesting that the same guy who complained that the kids wanted to play on the grass also complained that his wife couldn't find parking when she went on an errand so she had to park in Dulwich.

Not only is there still plenty of grass for the kids to play on in the park but I assume he's heard of Dulwich park? It's staring him in the face.

People will complain about everything.
 
The festivals in Brockwell Park story was the leading story on BBC News London yesterday evening. There was an interview with a man (member of some sort of Brockwell Park committee) who was lucky enough to live on one of the top floors of the ex council blocks beside the park with a magnificent view across it he was proud to show off. He went onto insist, without irony, that 'this is my backyard' and 'i dont want this sort of thing in my backyard'.

They then interviewed a few presumably passersby near the miniature railway who were all very pragmatic and overall supportive about the events in the park. One commented that they can still reach the kids playground, but they have to walk a bit further for a couple of weeks.

I felt this BBC investigation may have been a pretty decent local snapshot of how local people are feeling. For every privileged NIMBY there is at least 3 people who don't mind what's going on.
I first went to a festival in Brockwell Park in 1993, and there have been live music events there since at least the 70s, these things have been going on 'in his backyard' probably since before he lived there
 
No matter where people stand on it, it has to be better to do all the festivals in one block (and before school holidays start) rather than spreading them out across the summer.

The guy on the top floor with the sweeping park views sounds fairly miserable.
Why before the summer holidays? I know I’ve said it before but the clash with GCSEs (and presumably A-levels) is really poorly thought out. Maybe not such an issue for 2 or 3 days, but 9 days slap bang in that time does feel a bit unfair.
 
Why before the summer holidays? I know I’ve said it before but the clash with GCSEs (and presumably A-levels) is really poorly thought out. Maybe not such an issue for 2 or 3 days, but 9 days slap bang in that time does feel a bit unfair.
So the park will be open again for the kids to enjoy during their break, especially for those who don't have gardens.

Take your point on exams. But maybe some could go to the public library or school library to study. Do kids still do that?
 
So the park will be open again for the kids to enjoy during their break, especially for those who don't have gardens.

Take your point on exams. But maybe some could go to the public library or school library to study. Do kids still do that?
Don’t think the school libraries are open on the weekends, nor the public libraries open in the evenings. Not everyone can revise after school or earlier in the day. Also I used to revise by walking round my room saying things out loud. No idea why it worked but it did. Can’t do that in a public space :(

And there’s still a lot of park available for families.
 
Do kids actually care about a little disturbance when they revise? Or is it just worried adults imagining it? I could imagine a washing machine, television or absolutely anything might serve as a bigger distraction than a music festival gently thudding away in the distance.
 
Do kids actually care about a little disturbance when they revise? Or is it just worried adults imagining it? I could imagine a washing machine, television or absolutely anything might serve as a bigger distraction than a music festival gently thudding away in the distance.
I was a last minute crammer with undiagnosed attention difficulties and I very clearly remember that the day before a 50% A-Level exam, there was a music festival weekend near enough me to hear. It was a LOT more distracting than any of that other stuff you mentioned - I didn’t get anything done (and that may have been the only real day I allocated to revise 😬:oops:) and ended the day in panicked tears. So whilst it might not be an issue for some, I can almost guarantee it will be an issue for others.
 
Why before the summer holidays? I know I’ve said it before but the clash with GCSEs (and presumably A-levels) is really poorly thought out. Maybe not such an issue for 2 or 3 days, but 9 days slap bang in that time does feel a bit unfair.
at what point did everything have to be organised around children's exams?
 
at what point did everything have to be organised around children's exams?
Well it’s obviously not been organised around children’s exams! But I still think 9 days of loud music and/or baselines at such a key time in young people’s life is really bad timing, so much so I wonder if it was even considered as a factor.
 
Well it’s obviously not been organised around children’s exams! But I still think 9 days of loud music and/or baselines at such a key time in young people’s life is really bad timing, so much so I wonder if it was even considered as a factor.
i would hope it wasn't considered as a factor, its certainly not an important factor to the vast majority of people
 
i would hope it wasn't considered as a factor, its certainly not an important factor to the vast majority of people
But maybe a tad bit more important to that minority than a day or two of fun for others, no? Particularly when it’s not a question of whether to hold it or not but when to hold it. And remember, we’re not talking about a day or two but 9 whole days now.

I dunno, as I’ve said earlier I’ve personally ambivalent about the whole thing because my current life circumstances aren’t bothered by it. But to completely ignore the potential differing needs of residents for 9 days (and will that increase again next year?) for a money making event is quite shitty.
 
Photos from Sunday

In photos: Sunday at the Mighty Hoopla festival in Brockwell Park, 4th June 2023


In photos: Sunday at the Mighty Hoopla festival in Brockwell Park, 4th June 2023


In photos: Sunday at the Mighty Hoopla festival in Brockwell Park, 4th June 2023


In photos: Sunday at the Mighty Hoopla festival in Brockwell Park, 4th June 2023


In photos: Sunday at the Mighty Hoopla festival in Brockwell Park, 4th June 2023


In photos: Sunday at the Mighty Hoopla festival in Brockwell Park, 4th June 2023


 
Their original tweet was bizarre and wrong too - gate C is easily accessible from the Arlingford Rd, Tulse Hill, Brockwell Gate and Cressingham entrances, you didn't need to go via Brixton Water Lane to get in at all
 
to be fair, quite a lot of moaning about the country show. gone from a free event with lots going on to basically an expensive music festival with massive fences where you can't take booze/food.
 
The same people opposed to the festivals also seem to be very anti the Pokémon event next weekend which seems to have very minimal disruption, sounds quite fun and will attract a lot of new people to the park I guess.
 
Nah, there's been massive lorries driving dangerously doing u-turns in the junction and then behaving badly actually in the park. All the re-seeded grass areas have been covered over with duckboards so the grass wont recover for use before the summer is out...
Fair point - I guess being the Tulse Hill side I see a lot less of it but it does seem quite minimal and I like the idea of new people using the park.
 
Those photos seem to throw into doubt the woman on Twitter claim that the park is 'unusable' and 'torn to bits', doesnt it. I would be quite pleased if her house has gone down in value due to live music in Brockwell Park, but that is obviously complete nonsense too.
 
I think there's certain revisionism going on about what parks were created for. There's always been massive events in London parks since Victorian times when horses and carts were probably digging up ruts to carry materials for the great exhibitions and whatever, well before the 10k runners and the like came along to claim the parks as theirs.
 
Park is a fucking mess.
Agreed. I don’t have a problem generally with events in the park and understand the need for the council to generate revenue due to tory austerity, but the ground hasn’t properly recovered from the May/June events. It’s soft underfoot, I have seen large lorries driving over the grass and appearing to ignore the duckboard paths churning everything up and given forecast for Saturday it may well be a mess afterwards.

I really hope there’s arrangements in place for the organisers to put the park back how it was once it’s over.
 
Just walked through the park. As events go it seems pretty non invasive - just earnest looking people walking around with their face in their phones!* It’s even amusingly surreal in the bigger crowds. As long as you’re careful not to walk into them it’s fine. :) Glad I didn’t cycle as it would have been frustrating, but tbf it’s their right of way.

Agree that some of the construction truck drivers could have shown more consideration :hmm: but that’s on them really, not the event.

*so like most other days ;)
 
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